CDSG Newsletter - Fall 2020 Page 2
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CDSGThe Newsletter The Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. — Fall 2020 Chairman’s Message CDSG Meeting and Tour Calendar Richard Wong Please advise Terry McGovern of any additions or changes at [email protected] I'm honored to have been selected to serve as the Chairman of the CDSG through a unanimous vote of the CDSG's Board of 2021 CDSG Conference Directors (thank you, Robert Grimm and Steve Waldron). Special April 21 - 25, 2021 appreciation goes to our outgoing chairman, Danny Malone, who Charleston/Savannah has left this organization in a very strong position. Under his lead- Gary Alexander, [email protected] ership, annual dues were kept at $45, membership numbers were maintained, and initiatives were undertaken to provide an e-version 2021 CDSG Special Tour subscription option to our international members. August 21 - 29, August 25 - September 3, 2021 This year has been globally described as "unprecedented." The Sweden annual meeting in New Orleans was twice postponed due to the Terry McGovern, [email protected] persistence of the global pandemic that disrupted the travel plans of our domestic and international members. (A special thanks to 2022 CDSG Conference our conference chairman, Quentin Schillare, for his yeoman's work March 30 - April 3, 2022 in scheduling, rescheduling, and then cancelling all the hotel and New Orleans boat reservations). Speaking of New Orleans, an unprecedented Quentin Schillare, [email protected] number of tropical storms raced across the Atlantic into the Gulf of Mexico this year, exhausting the National Hurricane Center's Other Meetings and Tours list of alphabetical first names and extending into the Greek alpha- bet. Four of those storms -- Cristobal, Laura, Marco, and Delta April, 2021 -- made landfall in Louisiana, with yet-undetermined impacts on Kehl/Strasburg the coastal fortifications that the CDSG had planned to visit this Interfest Annual Meeting year Tentatively, the New Orleans conference is going to be held Oliver Zauzig, [email protected] March 30-April 3, 2022, with the Charleston/Savannah taking place a year before that. May 27 -28, 2021 Coronavirus continues to disrupt our daily lives. Thousands of Luxemburg polling places were shuttered, forcing millions of voters to mail in International Fortress Council Annual Meeting ballots that weren't counted until after Election Day, forestalling Kees Neisingh, [email protected] the announcement of a winner. Businesses have been closed since March, with some fortunate enough to telework. One can walk May 29-30, 2021 into bank wearing a mask and request money without triggering a Assn Saint-Maurice d' Etudes Militaries Tour silent alarm. The Tokyo Summer Olympics were postponed for a Ticino & Lake Como year, and Major League Baseball held a World Series that nobody Pascal Bruchez, [email protected] attended. Kids stopped going to school and instead are getting an online education via something other than YouTube and TikTok. May 29 -30, 2021 Meanwhile, life (and sadly, death) goes on. The US Department Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Festungforshung Study Tour of Agriculture continues its plans to move the Animal Disease Paris & Lille, Frannce Center from Plum Island to someplace closer to Quentin Schillare. Andres Kupka, [email protected] The overgrowth at Fort Adams continues to be trimmed. And in Washington State, we lost one of our stalwarts and former CDSG June 2021 Board Member, Al Chiswell. I first encountered Al when a business ECCOFORT Study Tour trip sent me to Seattle. I stayed an extra day and rented a car to Armenia drive out to Port Townsend. When I arrived at the Coast Artillery Hans-Rudolf Neumann, [email protected] Museum and Al found out I was a relatively new CDSG member who flew out from Washington, DC, to see "his" fort, he threw June 7 - 11, 2021 me in the front seat of his car and took me on a grand VIP tour of Rochefort, France Fort Worden, treating me as if were the Chairman of the CDSG. Association Vauban Annual Congress Now, 20 years later, I am, thanks to Al and his enthusiasm for the Charles Rofort, [email protected] organization and looking after its members. The CDSG Newsletter - Fall 2020 Page 2 September 11- 19, 2021 September 24 - 26, 2021 ECCOFORT Study Tour Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Festungforshung Annual Meeting Kotor/Montenegro Wesel, Germany Hans-Rudolf Neumann, [email protected] Andres Kupka, [email protected] September 16 - 20, 2021 November 2021 Assn Saint-Maurice d' Etudes Militaries Tour Charleston Wallon - Liege Concil on America's Military Past Annual Conference Pascal Bruchez, [email protected] Brigwt Hart, [email protected] September 23 -27, 2021 April 10 - 23, 2022 Piemont - Val D’Aoste ECCOFORT Study Tour Association Vauban Annual Congress Morroco Charles Rofort, [email protected] Hans-Rudolf Neumann, [email protected] Thank you, Al, and thanks to all the members of the CDSG * * * * * who have supported the group in one way or another -- welcoming CDSG 2020 Annual Business Meeting new members, protecting historic resources, contributing to the and “Members Day” Presentations Journal, providing trip reports and site updates for the Newslet- Mark Berhow ter, serving as Site and Regional Representatives, or simply by maintaining your memberships. We all share a love and passion The CDSG 2020 Annual Business Meeting, November 7, 2020, for what we do, and as your incoming chairman, I would like via Zoom along with a “Members Day” of presentations on coast facilitate those efforts. defense subjects. Regards, Richard Presentations began at 11:30 AM (Eastern time) with 5 pre- * * * * * sentations by both previous schedule conference speakers and Preservation Committee Report “members day” speakers. Presentations were given by: John Gordon Bliss Weaver – “Third System Forts of New Orleans”; Charles Bogart – “Chiefs of CAC”; Ted Pamkayotuff – “Fort Fremont”; Steven I have very little new to report on for this issue, so this column Kobylk – “Puget Sound Update”; and Ian Gray – “Defense of New will be very short. The continuing and resurgent pandemic has Orleans during the War of 1812”. These presentations were well still put a significant damper on activity. The future of one site of received with over 40 online attendees. A number of participants great interest to the group, Fort Terry on Plum Island, NY, is still indicated they would like having quarterly “member day” events uncertain; any proposed legislative action to benefit it is extremely via Zoom so other members could provide presentations. The unlikely to occur until at least next year. Fort Wool in Hampton Fortress Study Group is offering a similar lecture program of one Roads has been turned into a substitute bird sanctuary for at least presentation per week. The CDSG leadership would like to know the next few years as construction on the new highway tunnel of any member interested in giving a presentation. there has begun. From a few distance pictures I have seen, the The CDSG Annual Business Meeting was held virtually at 7:30 sand put down there is not covering any structures and nothing PM EST on November 7, 2020. There were approximately 34 at- appears to have been directly damaged but I have not seen any tendees. The CDSG Business Meeting consisted of the Chairman’s detailed views of the site. What it will look like after this project report and then reports of each of the standing committees’ activi- is finished and whether the public will ever be allowed back there ties over the past year. The business meeting is the opportunity for is an open question. the membership to interact directly with the board of directors One bright spot is that even with the restrictions, it is still and the committee members to ask questions or get information. possible to do outside work to help maintain sites as people can As a member, please consider attending in the future. maintain appropriate distances and generally there are less restric- The 2020-2021 Board of Directors are Richard Wong, Robert tions on such activity. The regular volunteer crew at Fort Adams, Grimm, and Steve Waldron. Opening remarks were given by Newport RI, has been working most Saturdays, weather permit- Chairman of the Board Richard Wong, who then introduced ting, to both keep the Third System structures clear and looking the reports from the various committees. Updates on the com- good, and to clean up some of the Endicott period batteries. If mittees’ annual activities will be provided in upcoming issues of something is going on in your area, please email me so that I can the Newsletter. mention it in the next newsletter. Membership Chairman Quentin Schillare reported that we cur- If you have a preservation issue or question, or for further rently have 403 members, with 373 US members and 28 foreign information on any of the items I’ve mentioned so far this year, members, of which 12 are electronic subscribers. contact Preservation Committee Chair Gordon Bliss, at preserva- Preservation and Interpretation Chairman Gordon Bliss noted tion@cdsg. org. the ongoing saga of Fort Wool, the great progress in reclaiming Fort Adams outworks, and the outstanding accomplishments of The CDSG Newsletter - Fall 2020 Page 3 the volunteer crews at Fort Casey and Fort Ebey. Gordon can CDSG Board of Directors has already agreed to fund (and we only respond to developing events if he is notified by observant have funds on hand to cover) are: members. Site Representative and Outreach chairman Norman Restoration Supplies for Battery Guenther at Fort Canby – up Scarpulla noted that he has regional representatives in place to to $2,500 – Waiting on USCG approval to continue the clean-up cover the US, but the CDSG is still looking for site representa- of the mortar battery by Aaron Buda, the CDSG Representa- tives to regularly make contact with any and all coast artillery tive for Columbia River.